Healthy Fluffy Dinner Rolls

I made these rolls last month on Thanksgiving day for my family and they absolutely loved them (and to my surprise, since I don’t have that much experience with yeast). I was expecting a total flop when I healthified this recipe by using 100% whole wheat flour instead of refined flour and olive oil instead of butter. I crossed my fingers that the recipe would work, because dinner was just a few short hours away…

Amazingly enough, the dinner rolls turned out perfectly! They are fluffy and moist, kind of like sliced bread but in bun form. These rolls were easy enough for me to make, of all people, so I’m sure anyone could make these 😉 And the fact that it requires only 6 ingredients makes this recipe that much better.

In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and truvia. Whisk in the warm water and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, add the warm almond milk and oil. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, starch and salt.

After the 5 minutes are up, whisk the almond milk-oil into the yeast mixture. Stir the flour mix into the wet ingredients and stir until a thick/poofy dough is formed (shouldn't be super sticky, you should be able to form a ball).

Tape a large square of parchment paper onto a flat surface (use packing tape around all edges). Flour the parchment paper with some WW flour, and lightly knead the dough ball (do not overwork it!)

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and put the dough ball in. Cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl in a warm spot for 1.5-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Generously grease a 9" brownie pan with cooking spray. After the 1.5-2 hours, divide the dough into twelve and roll into balls using the parchment paper and the palm of your hand. Place the dough balls in the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap that has been greased with cooking spray. Let the pan sit in a warm spot for 1-1.5 hours, or until it's puffy and looks like this:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the rolls for ~20 minutes, or until the surface of the rolls spring back when tapped.

Flip the pan onto a wire cooling rack, then flip again so the rolls are right side up. Brush the rolls with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately!

I decided to calculate the nutritional information for the recipe and compare it to the original recipe.

Original recipe‘s nutrition label is on theLEFT, my recipe’s nutrition label is on the RIGHT:

As you can see, there isn’t much difference between the labels, other than that my recipe is lower carb, lower sugar and higher fiber. But it’s not always about the nutrition facts, it’s about the ingredients.

Refined, white all purpose flour versus whole grain flour is basically this: flour that spikes your blood sugar and promotes fat gain versus flour that keeps your energy levels steady, can fight fat and can even lower your cholesterol! Not to mention, whole grains are more filling so you are likely to eat less… especially at a large holiday dinner…

Sooo fluffy. If you want healthy dinner rolls, these are definitely them!

Looking forward to trying this recipe, looks delicious! Any ideas on making it lower in fat (using less oil)? Maybe applesauce?

I haven’t tried the applesauce but I’m sure it will work! Good luck

If you mix sugar with yeast it makes the yeast soluble. I don’t think this will work with truvia though. So in this recipe the sugar is not (primarily) used to make it sweeter but for it’s chemical properties and can not be substituted. It may work without it though but not as nicely.

Hi Jessica! Looks great! How long do these stay fluffy after baking, and how do you recommend storing leftovers? Thanks!

April-
These are best the day they are made. They will harden the longer they sit.
I wrapped mine on a plate with plastic wrap and left them on the counter at room temp. If you can’t finish them the day you make them, you can probably try sticking them in the microwave for a few seconds the next day to make them soft again
-Jess

Noel-
I used 3 tbs of sweetener but you can use less if you like, maybe 1-2 tbs. My family didn’t think these rolls were sweet at all even with 3
-Jess

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Where Decadence & Health Become One!

Hey there! My name is Jessica and I just wanna welcome you to Desserts with Benefits™ — a healthy dessert recipe blog where we use good-for-you ingredients to make dishes you can feel good about eating. (Read More »)